Enjoying the weather...

With only 2-3 weeks to go before Whit gets here I have been dragging Kate around to run my errands or keeping her at home while I finish projects and get rooms ready. And even though we have been playing outside and enjoying this beautiful weather I figured I needed to intentionally take her somewhere she would want to go. Thanks to the Brantleys we have had a zoo pass these past few years and it is something that we get a lot of use and enjoyment out of. The Birmingham Zoo has a great children's section and this year is even more fun as Kate is much more interested in all the animals. I took Kate Thursday and then Jason and I took her again on Friday!

A Dose of Reality

I realize that when we are all posting on our blogs that we want to share the cute pictures of our families/children and share about all the fun stuff we all have going on. I am the same way but let me be the first to tell you although this blog shows our life it doesn't show all of it! So for a little dose of reality let me tell you what I am learning these days. First, I have never felt the need for wisdom but I find myself daily asking the Lord to give me wisdom when it comes to raising Kate. It is unfortunate but it took having a child to make me realize my desperate need for the Lord. Kate is the one thing in my life that I can't control and I struggle with that. I struggle with my anger most of all right now as Kate thinks its hilarious while she is disobeying...and all I want to do is get my hands on her and spank that grin right off her face. So then like in marriage the Lord is constantly showing me my sinfulness as having a child is surely bringing out the best and worst in me! I am thankful for God's grace today as I embark on another day of raising Kate. But for your enjoyment here are some pictures of her the other day when she had a complete come apart because I wouldn't carry her inside the house and made her walk like a big girl all by herself.

Our Life in Bullet Points

We got back from the beach and have been on the go ever since. Here is a bullet point list with pictures of what all we have been up to.

1. The girls in my Life Group threw a small shower for me Thursday night. It was such a sweet time with girls that have become very dear to me.

2. Easter Egg Hunts - Kate got to participate in three of them this weekend. First, we got together with all my high school girlfriends and their children. Then we headed over to Mimi and Pops to hunt eggs and finally on Sunday we hunted eggs with Poppi and Dre. It didn't take Kate long to realize candy was usually in the eggs and she would crack each egg open to see what was inside before going to the next egg. And if she found an egg without candy then she was most disappointed!

2. Happy Easter Sunday! Can someone tell me how to easily explain Easter to a two year old? I found that sharing with Kate that Jesus died on the cross for us and then rose again and now lives in our hearts was much harder then explaining about Christmas when Jesus was born. But besides that small road block this year we had a great time with family.

We gave Kate some plastic golf clubs for Easter so that she could play golf with her daddy and have her own clubs that she couldn't hurt!

4. Dying Easter Eggs with Mimi and Pop. Note to self, wash toddlers hands immediately after because the vinegar in the dye does not mix well with eyes.

'da Beach

Kate and I took an impromptu trip to the beach this past week and our friends Katie and Campbell Compton came along with us. The weather was quite windy and chilly the first day but we could not have asked for better weather the next two days. The girls were so excited about the beach and playing in the sand...whenever you asked Kate where we were going she would yell out "da beach!" The trip down and back with two toddlers was not all that bad except for the fact that they are both potty trained so we made many visits to the side of the road to let them potty!! (for those of you traveling with small ones a little potty for the car is a MUST!)

Kate would stop everyday and take her shoes off before she hit the sand.

It was quite chilly the first day but Kate and Campbell were totally unfazed and had a big time playing in the sand...we were literally the only people on the beach that morning. I turned 29 while down at the beach. To celebrate, on my birthday we woke up and went to the Doughnut Hole for breakfast. I can promise you that Kate and Campbell were way more excited about me having a birthday than I was because it meant fun and treats for them all day long!

I got lots of birthday hugs from Kate. She was quite the sweetie to me on my birthday!

I know you all know that I love to cut Kate's hair. But lately she won't wear bows and hardly little clips at the moment so I have been trying to let it grow so that I can pull it out of her face. This week she let me put her hair in pigtails or as she likes to say "two ponytails." I could have just eaten her up I thought she looked so cute!

I am not sure what happened but somewhere between potty training and always asking Kate if she was dry and just the sole fact that Kate is not crazy about when her shirt or outfit gets wet in general she has developed a weird obsession. She was having a really hard time with the fact that her bathing suit was "all wet" when she got in the pool. Solution, take the bathing suit off. But she hated the swim diaper too (but I was too afraid of pooping accidents in the pool so we are still going to use it for now). However, the next day she just sat at the edge of the pool and played and would not get in. So I am not sure how we are going to fix this one!We went to Baytown to for dinner one night and the girls had a blast.
Baytown has a great playground there that we let the girls play on for a while.

One night we went to Dippin Dots. I am obsessed and of course Kate and Campbell didn't argue with the fact that I wanted ice cream.
Shea, this chair is a huge hit. Kate has been sitting in it for the past year all over our house so she was more than thrilled to finally get back to the beach and be able to use it!
I realize that you are probably wondering where Katie is? We realized that we had tons of pictures of our kids and them together but didn't have any of the four of us. We did finally get a few but they are actually all on her camera so I will have to update this post when she emails me some. But overall I had a great birthday and survived the beach at 34 weeks pregnant with a 2.5 year old and I even got a lot of sunshine which makes me very happy!

Since we last spoke...

Spring break came and we headed to Atlanta for a quick visit with my brother Michael's family. Jason was conveniently there for work so we also got to see him and hang out one night. Bryce and Kate had a big time playing at the park and chasing each other. I remember when they were babies and used to just sit there and now we all have 2.5 year olds and they are all over the place!

We came home from Atlanta and didn't know that Michael had sent a little present along with us. Kate woke up from her nap the next day throwing up and then spend the rest of the evening the same way (to Michaels defense he got sick the evening we left...but that must be where we got our little stomach bug friend from). I then proceeded to get the stomach bug 48 hours later. Jason thankfully steered clear from it.

And we have basically just been playing outside any day that it hasn't rained. The weather has been really nice and our neighborhood is a blast when all the kids are out and about so we are just loving that warm weather is here!

Again, Poor Lucy

Kate loves to change her babies' diapers. She apparently thinks Lucy needs a diaper changing too!

What I forgot about Pregnancy

Oh how quickly I am being reminded of what it was like to be this pregnant.

1. It is quickly getting harder to put my socks and shoes on

2. You have to actually sit up in bed in order to roll over

3. I sleep with at least 5-6 pillows because of heartburn

4. Picking up toys off the ground is going to be the end of me

5. My hip is disappearing and holding Kate is proving to be harder

6. Starting to need some help when going from a sitting position to a standing position

7. Had to start taking iron supplements - enough said

8. No liquid after 7pm

*all you moms out there chime in!! :)

At week 26 I was talking to my doctor about how soon I could be induced and at week 30 I was discussing permanent birth control options with her. I know she thinks I am nuts!

31 weeks

lately

Static anyone?? I mean do your kids look like this on a daily basis too??
Sometimes I wonder if Lucy knows that she is about to have another baby come into the house and the torture she will have to endure again!

Anyone who knows me knows that I take scissors to Kate's hair every chance I get. But I have been trying to let it grow since she refuses to wear bows right now and her hair is all in her face. We can finally put it in a pony tail and for whatever reason Kate actually loves to have her hair in a ponytail.

Whit's Bedding

It's a shame that I am not as into doing a room for Whit as I was with Kate. Not sure if its because he is a boy or because the second time around you realize things just aren't as important as you thought they were the first time, or it could be that I am not working anymore and the family income is lower and you can't buy everything you want! :)

However, I have decided to go with a cabin theme in his room. His walls look like timber (thanks to Emily who lived here before us and did her little boys room this way). However I bought some fabric to make his bedding before I had really made a firm decision about the cabin theme. I have decided to just make a big boy room for him and then just stick a crib in it that doesn't really match the rest of the room - since it is somewhat temporary anyway. The fabric has a lot of the same coloring as the rest of the room but it is a little more modern then the rest of the room is going to end up looking. I finally started and finished making his bedding and even had enough fabric left over to make a skirt. It isn't perfect by any means but for not having a pattern and just going for it I think it turned out really well!

If I ever get the rest of his room done I will have to post pictures of it as well!! :) At least he has a bed now that he can come home and sleep in!

Rock A Bye Baby

This rocking chair was mine as a little girl and now Kate has it. We brought it home last night from my parents house and Kate hasn't stopped rocking her baby. Guess it is good practice for when Whit comes home...except when Kate is done rocking her baby she just throws it down -we will definitely have to work on that!

For those of you who know me well know that my idea of cooking is putting a Stoufers Lasagna in the oven. However, one of my really good friends is the owner of Ashley Mac's and is an amazing cook. She has graciously taken on helping me become someone who can melt my husbands heart with a nice meal when he comes home from work and a meal that I can handle. So the other night we had Lemon Zest Tilapia on top of wild rice, twice baked potatoes and some lima beans (Jason's favorite). I am not a huge fish lover but Jason said it all tasted really good so I say it was a success.

I had asked Ashley for this beef bourguignon recipe and she responded with this, "it's not hard, but it did take me about 3 hrs to make just because there are a lot of steps. This might be like you teaching me how to sew and starting with Kate's heirloom easter dress." After that comment I decided that I should change my first real experimental cooking with something easier!